Technology Slice Blog

iTunes Announcement Most Likely The Beatles News - Earlier today we told how we felt that Apple’s iOS 4.2 may be imminent after finding out that today Ping has been made available on the iPad. When Ping was made available for the iPhone and iPod Touch it coincided nicely with the launch of iOS 4.1 and so the news of a release for iOS 4.2 sounds more promising. Along with learning that Ping for the iPad is now available we also told how Ping now has Twitter integration too. Now, neither of these things merited any announcement from Apple and yet we hear from Samuel Axon over on Mashable that today a message on iTunes reads, “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget. Check back here tomorrow for an exciting announcement from iTunes.” That’s certainly an announcement that’s going to get a lot of people talking. We noticed the times on the clocks of the message read 3:00 pm in London, that’s 10:00 pm in New York. Mashable points out it could be a music subscription servi...

The Beatles Coming To iTunes - Apple has obtained the rights to offer the Beatles music at iTunes, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The paper said Apple is planning to make the announcement but cautioned that Apple "could change plans" at the last minute. Apple feuded with the Beatles for years over the Apple trademark. In the late 1960's, the Beatles named their holding and record company Apple Records. The dispute was only one of the obstacles keeping the band's music off iTunes. Another problem was whether iTunes could acquire exclusive digital rights to the songs. Had the Beatles cut such a deal, it risked alienating Wal-Mart, Amazon, and scores of other music retailers online and off, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Every so often, a rumor would emerge that Apple was getting the Beatles but years passed without a deal. A spokesman for EMI, the Beatles record label, declined to comment. Some Beatles fans at CNET and...